


Paper I

by ilse_writes



Series: Partners [6]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Back to the crime scene, Character gets hurt, Explicit Language, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, M/M, Police action, Scary Nines, The things you do for your partner, soft nines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 13:12:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19357726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilse_writes/pseuds/ilse_writes
Summary: Gavin and Nines return to a crime scene to get one last look. They are not the only ones who return and things go south.





	Paper I

Gavin has been staring at the evidence for what must be over an hour now. It is all there, neatly displayed in the evidence room. Every little thing tagged and put into the system before it was hung up on that wall. He knows everything that’s up here, because he had been staring at the files at his terminal earlier today. He hoped that coming down to the evidence room gave him some fresh insight, some new ideas. He was missing something. Some tiny fucking thing that would tie everything together. 

It isn’t there.

He groans, tipping his head back and running his hands through his hair. “Fuck. I need a cigarette.”

“Smoking is bad for your health, detective.” 

Gavin curses loudly, grips his shirt at his chest and turns around to the source of the voice. “Damn it, tin can! The only thing bad for my health is _you_! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

His partner tilts his head slightly and looks at him inquisitively. “Your heart rate is elevated and your stress levels have shot up. However, there is no direct risk to your health. I advise taking a few deep breaths to help you calm down.”

Gavin moves his lips soundlessly, for the moment unable to voice his frustration with his android partner. Sneaking up on him with his fucking stealth mode, scanning him when he knows how Gavin hates that, bugging him about his smoking and doing it all while looking perfectly calm and collected. Mr. Plastic Fantastic.   
He glares at the android, who stares back with a hint of smugness. He did it on purpose, at least the part of sneaking up on him.   
“Fuck off, Nines,” he eventually spits out. “What are you doing here anyway?”

The android ignores the harsh words, like he usually does when there’s no real venom behind them. He calmly looks at Gavin, hands clasped behind his back. He’s wearing his usual ensemble of charcoal grey slacks and a black turtleneck; the brown leather straps of his shoulder holster stick out against his dark clothes, giving him a classic detective look. It looks good on him.  
Gavin favours wearing his handgun on his hip, where people can see it, along with his badge. Nines prefers a more concealed carry, the gun hidden under his white jacket in most cases. Some people still get nervous about androids carrying a weapon, no matter whether they are police officers or not, so the concealed carry makes sense. The android gets enough shit as it is already. 

“The evidence is inconclusive,” Nines says in that matter-of-fact voice of his. “The crime scene will be released tonight, I thought you might like to take one last look at the scene.”

“Fuck, why not?” Gavin presses a few buttons on the terminal to lock the evidence in front of him away again and starts for the door. “Maybe I’ll get some fresh ideas there.”

The RK900 drives them to the scene, an abandoned factory building. The last owner was a printing company, it’s main business printing newspapers. No wonder it went belly up: who the hell reads newspapers anymore?   
It’s a twenty minute drive from the precinct, twenty five because they make a stop at a drive through for coffee and a pretzel. Detective Reed can’t think on an empty stomach.

“How’s your new apartment?” Gavin asks, swallowing a bite of the pretzel.

“It’s adequate,” Nines answers, keeping his eyes on the road. Not that he really needs it: Gavin suspects the android can drive with his eyes closed and still not hit anything or anyone. 

“Anything with four walls and a roof is adequate,” he scoffs, shaking his head a little. “That depressing android storage room at the precinct was _adequate_. I should hope having your own place is a little more than that!” 

Nines doesn’t comment on that, his face blank as always. “Connor gave me a Monstera. He told me a plant is a typical housewarming gift among humans.”

“And he gave you one called Monster?” Gavin scrunches up his face.

“I believe it’s called like that because of its large leaves,” Nines answers. “It’s actually quite nice to look at. And it purifies the air.”

Gavin chuckles. “More clean oxygen for you to breathe in. How thoughtful of your tin twin.”

Earlier this month Nines finally gave in to Connor’s pressing - and Gavin’s, to be honest - and found himself an apartment in a complex that was specifically catering to androids. That meant having a small kitchen and bathroom, mainly for any human guests that might come over, and large open rooms with a smart home system that allowed the occupant to control everything digitally.   
Gavin dropped him off at his new home once: it was a white highrise, looking very slick and expensive. Made sense, because androids saved money on groceries and their utilities bill, leaving more for rent.

Live pets were not allowed in the highrise, so Tiny still lived with Gavin. Nines visited her a couple a times a week, often staying over for the night. Gavin was already used to seeing the android in his home first thing in the morning. Although this morning had been a little different, as he woke up earlier than usual and walked in on Nines still in stasis. Other times the android had been milling about his kitchen, the coffee already brewing and the cats fed. This time Nines was stretched out on the couch, one arm behind his head and the other resting on his stomach. His feet rested up on the armrest, crossed at the ankles. Tiny was curled up on his chest, tucked in the crook of his arm. Gavin will not admit to anyone that he stared for a couple of minutes, before bustling loudly into his kitchen, making noise on purpose so the android would wake up and not look so… innocent and human anymore.

The entrance to the factory lot is closed off with holographic police tape, a single android officer keeping watch at the gate. Nines stops the car and makes the window go down to show their badges, which is probably only to show Gavin’s badge, the rest of it is only a matter of being polite and acting human. Gavin is pretty sure the androids send some data back and forth. The officer informs them the forensics team just left, giving them all the space they need to take a look.

It is raining, making the November day darker than it already was. Behind them the android officer deactivates the holographic tape with their permission. There’s no point in having the guy stand in the rain for nothing, he might as well go back to the precinct. Nines parks the car close to the backdoor and they quickly enter the building. It’s a factory like most others: large spaces, high ceilings, obsolete machinery and some random inventory left behind. This factory has some offices and a breakroom at the second floor, metal walk bridges crossing the empty space above the machinery. The printing presses are large, their height an easy three or four times Gavin’s length and each one taking up the space of a classroom. There are some giant rolls of paper stacked to one side of the room, like enormous rolls of toilet paper.

The break room is their main destination: it was there that they had discovered the remnants of four different androids earlier this week, not enough of everything to reassemble even two androids. Every component was drained of the last drop of Thirium. A fifth android was found in the storage closet, her memory so badly damaged they couldn’t even access it. She still had some Thirium left in her body, though it was hardly enough to be able to reboot her. One of the offices was used as a storage space for the collected Thirium, the blue liquid now all safely stored away in the evidence room of the Central Station of the Detroit Police. Traces of Red Ice had been found on several spots in the offices and the break room, making it an easy guess why the perps had been draining androids.

The forensics team has taken everything with them, there are no yellow evidence markers left and all the portable bits of evidence are taken to the precinct. Finding something here is like looking for a needle in a haystack, yet Gavin wants to give it a try anyway.

He slowly walks around the spacious break room, remembering where everything was and what it looked like. Nines stands in the door opening, watching him for a moment before telling Gavin he’ll be taking a look at the loading dock downstairs. “I want to review my reconstruction of their supply route.”

Gavin waves him off. “Sure, go do your thing.”

The rain patters loudly on the roof windows outside in the main factory hall. The sound is more muffled in the break room, making it easy for Gavin to drown it out and focus on his thoughts. Fact is that a criminal group took androids off the streets to drain them of their Thirium for the production of Red Ice. Gavin suspects they have encountered this group - or members of it - before, although there is no hard evidence pointing in that direction. In fact, there is no evidence at all that helps them find out who is behind this shit. All he has is a hunch, nothing he can take to court, not even something good enough to get a warrant.

Gavin opens the door to the storage closet where they found the fifth android. It doesn’t make any sense that she was there. All the other androids were disassembled, their parts tossed together without regard for their respective owners. Something tells him the android girl was not taken off the streets for the purpose of draining her. There was no missing persons report on her for one, and they found traces of Red Ice in the seams of her plating. It really is a shame her memory was so fucked up. The tech department was still trying to find a way to retrieve it, though they had no luck thus far.

His phone beeps at the same time as there is a loud ruckus out in the hall. A clanging of metal, some unintelligible shouts and above everything the booming voice of Nines: “Halt! Detroit Police!”

Gavin takes a quick look at his phone. There is a text from his partner, informing him of the presence of two suspects, one human, one android. A second text comes in: _Human suspect is armed_. 

He pulls his gun and moves towards the door of the break room, staying away from the windows. If he can get a clear look on the suspects downstairs, he might be able to get a shot on them. 

A shot fires, the sound ringing through the mostly empty factory hall. 

 _Nines!_  

Gavin feels his heart skip a beat when he spots his partner’s pristine white jacket. He’s pretty certain the perp was the one who fired, the android only fires his gun as a last resort. Luckily the perp is a lousy shot. Nines is in pursuit, obviously going after the gunman first. The other suspect, the android, runs off in the other direction, taking the stairs to the second floor. There’s an exit to the roof in the corner of the building, that is probably where he is going. With the gunman and Nines out of sight, Gavin runs over the nearest walk bridge. He can’t prevent the sound that his boots make against the metal, alerting the suspect of his presence.   
“DPD!” he shouts. “Stop!” He points his gun for emphasis, yet the suspect is not impressed. The android glances back shortly and carries on running.

He takes a risk, counting on it that the android isn’t carrying a gun since Gavin hasn’t been shot at yet and runs across the factory hall over the walk bridge. If he pushes himself, he can just intercept the android who has to take the long way to reach the roof exit. Last year he wouldn’t have thought he would be able to outrun an android, yet having the RK900 for a partner made him want to train harder, to be better. He wouldn’t be able to outrun an RK-model, Connor and Nines are far too fast, but this suspect is likely a domestic model. Gavin has a chance.

The large printing press is right beneath him as Gavin sprints across the metal walk bridge. Just one more push and then he’ll have the fucker. With a grunt he collides with the android, slamming them both against the rail of the bridge. A human would’ve been hurt by the force, hell, Gavin’s teeth knock together from the impact. The android is made of sturdier material and he pushes the detective off him, trying to run again. Gavin grabs at him, there is a struggle and with a loud curse the detective topples over the railing. One short second he sees the floor coming at him and then an all consuming pain shoots through his hand, arm and shoulder. His body turns in the air, swinging by his arm on the edge of the walk bridge. The pain is too much, he has to let go. It’s not a conscious decision, there’s nothing he can do. His arm goes limp instantaneously, gravity taking over.

_“Gavin!!”_

The floor is closer than he thought, the air rushing from his lungs as his back hits a hard surface. Everything goes black for a few seconds, his vision only returning with white and red streaks of pain shooting behind his eyes. He’s alive. Everything fucking hurts, but he’s alive. Short, shallow breaths. His left arm hurts like a motherfucker, especially his shoulder. His right arm is hanging down, dangling in open air. So is the lower part of his right leg, his knee bend and something solid pressing against the side of his calf. 

“Gavin! Don’t move!”   
With some difficulty Gavin can locate the voice that is coming from above him. A white spot in his blurry vision, a blue glowing triangle.   
“Stay still, Gavin! I’m coming!” The white spot moves up and with another blink Gavin can see how Nines climbs the rail of the walk bridge.

“No!” His voice croaks and it’s nowhere near as loud as he wanted it to be, yet his partner hears him anyway.   
“Get… suspect.” Gavin coughs, trying to get some more air in his lungs.

The android is seven or eight feet above him, ready to jump down. His LED is circling red. “You’re hurt. You need help.” 

“Can wait,” Gavin grunts. “Catch asshole first.”

“You’re hurt,” Nines states again, his brow furrowed. 

His surroundings start to make some sense to Gavin. He is lying on top of one of those giant rolls of paper, his arm and leg dangling off the side. With a groan he pulls his right arm in, letting it rest across his stomach. He doesn’t want to roll off the side, where another 8 foot drop is waiting for him.   
“I’m fine,” he tells his partner.

“You are most definitely not fine!” Nines is angry. “You are in need of medical assistance.”

“Fine, I’m _not_ fine!” Gavin coughs again, his lungs still recuperating from the fall. “But I can wait until you catch that fucking waste of plastic first!”

The LED on Nines’ temple spins furiously, first red and then turning yellow. His jaw sets and then he steps back over the railing. With one last look down at Gavin he turns and then he’s off. 

Gavin lets his head fall back against the roll of paper and screws his eyes shut. He almost pities the android that now has the RK900 hot on his tail. Almost, because he actually pities himself more. Fuck, this hurts.  
He is distantly aware of the weird angle his left arm is lying in. He knows better than trying to move. Nines has probably already alerted the emergency services. Help is on the way. In the meantime he tries to focus on his breathing to keep from hyperventilating. 

Sooner than expected, there’s a loud thud from closeby. Gavin feels more than sees that Nines drops to his knees next to him. The large paper roll moves a bit, but remains stable.  
“I’m gonna scan you, detective,” his partner says, voice low and concerned. 

Gavin pulls his face in a pained smirk. “What, no Gavin anymore?” 

“I see your amazing personality didn’t suffer from your fall,” is the quick answer and Gavin huffs out a laugh, ending in a groan.  
A warm hand closes around his own on his stomach, squeezing reassuringly. “Where does it hurt?”

“Shoulder, arm,” Gavin breathes out. “Head too. My back a little.”

Nines nods. “You have dislocated your shoulder and there’s a high probability for a concussion. Your back and spine seem to have suffered no real damage, except for some heavy bruising.”

“I’ll walk it off.” His lame joke earns him a firm squeeze in his hand, bordering on painful. “Ow! Careful there, terminator.”

“I’m gonna have to set your shoulder,” Nines says. “The longer we wait, the bigger the risk for permanent damage.”

Gavin nods and grinds his teeth together. “Do you know how to do it?”

“I’ve downloaded the necessary procedures,” his partner answers and removes his hand from Gavin’s to inspect the detective’s shoulder. 

Gavin curses when a new flare of pain shoots up his shoulder. The RK900 is not a medically trained android, though he has the basic knowledge to provide first aid. However, he also delivered a baby on the side of the road, so it’s safe to say setting a dislocated shoulder is not beyond his abilities. 

Nines says some quiet words about Gavin not being in the ideal position but not wanting to move him too much in fear of his other injuries. He also brings Gavin’s right wrist up to his face, pushing the sleeve of his leather jacket up to his lips. “I advise you to bite down on this.” 

The moment Gavin bites down firmly, the android pulls on his left arm and Gavin feels bones and muscles grind against each other. He curses up a storm and doubles over, colliding with his partner’s chest. 

It’s an awkward position, Gavin hunched over in Nines’ lap, with the android supporting his repositioned arm to prevent the joint from coming out of the socket again. He can’t bring it up to move himself away just yet, panting harshly to breathe through the pain. Gavin fists the white CyberLife jacket in his good hand, digging his nails in. His forehead rests against Nines’ thigh, the fabric of his slacks soft against his skin.

A gentle hand strokes his hair. Once, twice, a third time in time with his breathing.   
“So far for not moving you too much,” Nines says with a hint of amusement. “At least we now know for sure you have no damage to your spine.”

“Fuck you,” Gavin answers, not really meaning it. 

“You’re welcome.”

Gavin punches the android lightly in his side, still clutching the jacket. He only holds back to prevent hurting his own hand: Nines his plating is really hard.  
He carefully sits up, sliding sideways a little to not put too much pressure on his painful limbs. Nines moves with him, supporting his arm until Gavin can take over. The android removes his thin jacket and folds it to form a makeshift mitella. It’s not ideal, but it’ll work for now. 

Gavin chances a look down. They are on top of three stacked rolls of paper, too high for him to jump down, especially in this state. He’ll probably hurt his ankles or fall on his injured arm. 

“We can get down on the other side,” Nines says, guessing his thoughts. “Or we can wait for the fire department to get you down.”

“No fucking thank you.” Gavin already finds it humiliating enough that the android has to help him to his feet. 

Nines keeps his hand on his elbow, guiding Gavin over the stacked rolls to the other side, where there is one roll next to a stack of two, making a giant stairs. 

“I’ll go first and then I’ll help you down,” Nines says and lightly jumps down to the lower roll of paper. 

Gavin has no other choice than to shove forward on his butt until his legs dangle of the edge and Nines can reach up for him. His partner keeps a firm grip on his hips as he lowers him, Gavin grabbing the android’s shoulder with one hand to steady himself.   
They repeat the process until they’re on the floor, with Gavin out of breath from having to grit through the pain. 

“Medical support is here,” Nines says. His LED blinks yellow as he communicates with the ambulance personnel. He guides Gavin to sit on the floor, sitting on his haunches in front of him.

Gavin leans back against the giant toilet roll, wishing it was as soft as real toilet paper. He closes his eyes.  
“What did you do with the perps?” 

“I secured them for our uniformed colleagues,” Nines answers and there is something about that statement that sounds a bit off to Gavin. 

He has no time to ask about it though, because the ambulance is coming in through the loading dock and so are three patrol cars. Gavin is happy to see his friend Tina getting out one of the cars. She hurries over to them, already calling out from a distance. “What the fuck, Reed?! Who told you base jumping was a good idea?!”

He gives her a one-sided shrug, grimacing when even that hurts. “You know me, always eager to try something new.”

“Bullshit,” she laughs. “You don’t even want to try the chef’s special at Roasty’s!”

He bickers with his friend, grateful for the distraction. In the background Nines is interfacing with one of the medical androids, no doubt filling her in about what happened.  
When he is done he steps closer to them, watching Gavin. “Officer Chen can stay with you. I’ll go assist the other officers to retrieve our suspects.”

“No, you stay with Gav. I’ll fetch those guys.”  
Nines looks like he wants to argue with her, yet she is adamant.   
“I have wrangled him into getting his shots twice already. You’re his partner now, it’s your turn!”

Nines looks confused. “I don’t understand?”

Tina smirks and stands up to whisper loudly in the android’s ear. “Our boy here is terrified of needles.”

“I can hear you, you know!” Gavin scowls over the shoulder of the medical android who is treating him. 

His friend only waves sweetly. “Might want to put a muzzle on him too. Last time he bit the doctor.”

Nines rides in the ambulance with him, staying silently by his side the whole time. There is one needle. A big one. It’s a painkiller of some sorts and Gavin tries to convince the doctor he doesn’t need it. The android nurse prepares the needle anyway and there is nothing more humiliating than failing to hide his fear for his partner and ending up in his strong arms, hyperventilating and with tears streaming down his cheeks. 

Everything starts to blur together after that. Nines takes him home and when he wakes up the next morning, he is only in his underwear and a T-shirt, meaning the android must have undressed him. He also vaguely remembers getting woken up by the android repeatedly during the night, the reassuring image of the glow of a blue LED in the dark stuck in his memories.

Getting up is almost impossible: his whole body hurts. He curses loudly and manages to roll over to get his feet off the bed, before he can push himself up with his good arm. There is a knock on the door and a moment later Nines appears in the door opening.   
“How are you feeling, Gavin?” Nines only calls him detective when they are at work nowadays. 

“Like I fell from 16 feet.” 

“That sounds accurate,” is the dry response. “Would you like some breakfast?” 

“I need a shower first, I feel fucking filthy.” 

Undressing turns out to be another humiliating experience. He has to call Nines back into the room because he can’t get his T-shirt off by himself. The android is gracious about it, acting like it’s the most normal thing in the world that a grown man needs help to get out of his clothes. Only once Gavin sees his eyes wander over his naked chest, the android’s eyes quickly fixating back on his shoulders when he is caught. 

Gavin stumbles into the adjacent bathroom, glad to shut the door between him and Nines. The struggle to get his underwear off is a fucking nightmare and he nearly falls over. The split second thought of asking his partner for help in the shower is pushed down immediately. When he is finally in the shower, the hot water helps to calm him down and it soothes his sore muscles. He takes his time, staying in the shower until the water runs cold. 

He pats himself dry with a towel, not able to get himself completely dry, yet he refuses to call for Nines. For a second he expects the android to be waiting for him in his bedroom and he actually peeks into the room to check before walking out. Getting dressed is more of the same nightmare and it takes him way longer than it should. He opts out of wearing a T-shirt and searches his closet for a button up shirt. The only choice he has besides the shirt of his dress uniform is a Hawaiian shirt in screaming colours that Anderson would probably compliment him on. He gives up on buttoning it halfway, fucking exhausted of the whole ordeal of getting showered and dressed. At least his joggers are not falling from his ass. There is a sling waiting for him on his bed and he decides to not be a stubborn ass and just put it on. The sooner his shoulder heals, the better.

A cup of coffee is ready for him when he comes into the kitchen, his partner busy making pancakes.   
“You don’t have to do that,” Gavin grumbles, taking his coffee from the counter. 

“I don’t mind,” Nines says pleasantly. “Besides, you would probably just grab a cereal bar and call that breakfast.”

Gavin carefully leans his backside against the counter, side eyeing the golden brown pancake on the stove. “Do you even know how to make pancakes?”

“I can follow a recipe, it’s not that hard.” The android flips the pancake perfectly. “I quite enjoy cooking, actually. It’s relaxing.”

“Too bad you don’t eat then,” Gavin scoffs. 

“I could cook for you when I come over to visit Tiny.” The suggestion is made so casually that Gavin almost agrees with it. As if getting more domestic with his DPD partner is a good fucking idea in the first place.  
“Your breakfast is ready. Do you think you can sit down?”

“I didn’t fall on my ass, plastic idiot.” Gavin stiffly goes to sit down at the kitchen table. The pancakes smell good, they taste even better. He eats in silence, Nines cleaning up the kitchen. 

When his plate is empty, Nines collects it with a pleasant ‘did you enjoy your meal?’, like he is a fucking waiter.   
“Yeah, it was good. But, Nines… you don’t have to fucking do this.”

His partner seems to understand he means more than making him breakfast. “I stayed over because someone had to wake you up every hour to check for a concussion, otherwise you’d have to stay the night at the hospital. I thought you would prefer being at home, so I called us a cab.”  
Nines washes the plate in the sink, continuing their conversation. “You got injured on the job because I was too late to spot the two intruders. Taking care of you when you’re injured is the least I can do.”

“Woah, you can stop your whole personal guilt trip right there, tin can!” Gavin pushes his seat back and gets up. “What happened was not your fault. It was just a stupid accident.”

The LED circles yellow and the expression on Nines’ face is way too fucking serious. The android really seems to think Gavin getting hurt was somehow his fault. 

“I mean it, Nines,” Gavin states again, getting in the android’s line of vision. “Not. Your. Fault.”

It takes a few seconds, but then Nines slowly nods, his LED turning back to blue. “All right.”  
His eyes fall down Gavin’s shirt. “You still need help though.”  
The android’s fingers make quick work of the open buttons, straightening out the Hawaiian shirt with a short pull at the bottom when he’s done. 

Gavin doesn’t think his face can get any redder. And it’s not just because he’s being dressed like a small child again. It’s more about the way Nines’ hands feel on him, like they simply belong there. He steps back, creating more distance between them.   
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” His voice cracks embarrassingly on the first couple of words.

Nines tilts his head in acknowledgement. “I do. I have some interrogations waiting for me.”

Normally Gavin would have insisted to be there for the interrogations of the suspects they caught yesterday, yet now he is relieved to see the android leave his apartment. Not that he won’t be back: one of the officers drove Gavin’s car back to the precinct yesterday and Nines will bring it back to him at the end of the day. 

He walks out onto his balcony, lighting a much needed cigarette. He smokes a second when he realises the android effectively distracted him from wanting to smoke yesterday in the evidence room. Nines has wormed himself into nearly every part of his life and Gavin can’t even be mad about it. The android only ever goes as far as he lets him. If he told him to go, the android would obey. The thought of what that would do with Nines is unsettling, the realisation that Gavin doesn’t want him to go even more so. He smokes a third cigarette before crashing on the couch, letting daytime tv numb his brain and make the weird thoughts go away. 

At some point he falls asleep on the couch, sorely regretting it the moment he is woken up by his phone. It’s Tina, so he answers despite the pain. 

“You sound like shit,” she tells him immediately.

“I fell asleep in front of the tv, shouldn’t have done that,” he explains, groaning as he pops a particularly sore kink in his back. “How are things at the office?”

His friend explains how the two suspects were interrogated, Nines being able to get valuable information from them. “He was brutal though,” she says hesitantly. “I’ve never seen him like that before.” 

“Well, he was shot at yesterday,” Gavin answers. “We never take kindly to criminals who shoot at cops.”

“I meant the android suspect, actually,” Tina interrupts him. “I thought Nines was gonna rip out his Thirium pump. He was fucking scary, Gav!”  
Gavin frowns. Nines is usually very careful and strict around their suspects. He only uses force when he really has to and even then he is never out of line. For him to act like this, the suspect must have been really getting to him.   
“Nines is trying to get him for attempted murder on a police officer. Don’t know if that’s gonna stick.”

“Attempted murder?” Gavin mulls it over. He almost fell to his death, that stack of paper rolls saved his life. “He did throw me over that rail.” 

“I know. But the guy can really do us a number if he files a complaint against Nines.”

“Why? Because he was a little hard on him in the interrogation room?” 

“No, because he…” Tina pauses. “He didn’t tell you?” 

“Tell me what?” 

She chuckles. “We found that android on the roof, folded up like laundry in an airco housing unit. I guess Nines wanted to get back to you quickly and didn’t have the patience to take the perp with him.”

Gavin almost breaks a laugh because of the image. The message behind it is more serious however. “That doesn’t sound like Nines. What about the other suspect, the gunman?”

“That one was chained with his wrists to one of the printing presses. He was a lot more comfortable than his friend.”

They chat a little longer, Tina telling him about the little things he missed at the office today. Gavin only listens to half of it, his mind is stuck on Nines’ rough treatment of the suspect. Slowly, he comes to a conclusion. One that is in line with Nines feeling guilty about Gavin getting hurt. One that fits in with Nines taking care of him, hanging out in his home. He remembers the question Nines asked him when he showed up at his house to apologize about getting him a new cat: ‘Do you care about me?’. And Gavin’s answer was important to his partner, because of what the android was really saying.

_I care about you._

**Author's Note:**

> Not too sure about the ending on this one. Let me know what you think!


End file.
